Colorado Senate Votes To Allow Rivian Direct Sales To Consumers, But There’s A Catch

Legacy automakers still can't sell EVs (or any other models) directly to consumers

2020 Rivian R1S
Image: Rivian

Rivian and Tesla can sell directly to you, depending on where you live.

The Colorado Senate passed Senate Bill 20-167, a piece of legislation which allows . This was a direct result of automaker Rivian sending the proposal to the Senate, following Tesla’s sales model. Electric automakers like Tesla and Rivian will be able to sell their products directly to consumers – forgoing dealers. That is, if the Colorado House also approves the Senate’s bill. Provided both halves of the legislature approve the measure, Governor Jared Polis will most likely sign it into law.

The news comes after Rivian lobbied lawmakers in the state to allow a direct-sales model, foregoing the long and expensive process of setting up a franchise dealer system.

Simply put, this would allow you to completely forego a dealership or a dealer of any sort and purchase your vehicle directly from the automaker. While there are pros and cons to this practice — some service and part ordering from Tesla has proven difficult, for example — many Colorado consumers applaud the bill. 

Legacy automakers can’t take advantage of the current bill

There is a caveat to the legislation, however. The Colorado Auto Dealers Association, among others who voiced concern over the bill’s passage, insisted that there be an addition to the final version that automakers currently selling automobiles cannot sell EVs (or any other vehicles) directly to the consumer. That means Ford, GM, FCA, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Honda and so on have to sell to you through a dealership. That goes for their EV products as well. 

We will keep an eye on this development and see if it passes the Colorado House of Representatives. Not every state is on board with this practice, so it will be interesting to see what this could lead to. Stay tuned!